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<title>of all the beds by lightswoodmagic (sarah_writes)</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27278866">of all the beds</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarah_writes/pseuds/lightswoodmagic'>lightswoodmagic (sarah_writes)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>One Direction (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Demons, Exes, M/M, halloween fic, monsters under the bed, or as grace put it, spoopy oh no there's only one bed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 16:27:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>666</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27278866</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarah_writes/pseuds/lightswoodmagic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Zayn never realised that when it came to bunk beds, there's only one 'under the bed'. </p><p>And what are the chances the other child's demon would be his ex-boyfriend?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Zayn Malik/Liam Payne</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>72</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>1D Trick Or Treat Fest 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>of all the beds</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Thank you so much to my lovely Mia and my wonderful Grace. </p><p>Hope you enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It was easy to slip through the halls undetected, easy to blend into the shadows and dart between the children as they laughed and squealed, getting ready for bed with their friends. He’d found Olive’s room easily, always knew where she was when the sun started to set, and all he could do now was wait until darkness swallowed this room too, bleeding in from outside to set her on edge until Zayn decided to make himself known. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’d been the demon under Olive’s bed since she was two, right when her imagination had developed enough that adults could easily brush it all aside. It’d been seven years now, seven years of scratching nails along the bed frame and casting shadows on walls, making sure she knew he was there even if he never truly allowed her to see him. Sometimes he felt a pang of guilt when she shivered at the shadow of his horns cast on the wall, but this was who he </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It was hardly his </span>
  <em>
    <span>fault</span>
  </em>
  <span>, right?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn’t help that this was the first child he’d been assigned and that so much of it was new to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everything was starting to settle now, the noise quieting down to excited whispers as the lights were turned off and teachers came by to tell them all to go to sleep. Zayn just managed to shift so that his head was under the bunk beds in the room as the lights went out, and realised that his inexperience really ensured he wasn’t prepared for every situation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’d never thought about the fact that when children share a bunk bed, there was only one ‘under the bed’, and that maybe the other child would have a demon too, and maybe, just maybe, they’d both have to share the space. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And that maybe, it’d be his ex-boyfriend that he’d find already laying on his back, hands behind his head, eyes golden and as bright as the sun as he turned to look at Zayn in surprise. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zayn froze, half under the bed. “Liam?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The smirk that slowly stretched across Liam’s face was infuriatingly attractive. “Zaynie. What are you doing here?” He raised his eyebrows and laid out his arm, fingers dangerously close to Zayn’s pinkie, as casual as if they were simply meeting again in a bar after all this time. “If you’re going to get under here, you should do it quickly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hadn’t seen Liam in almost five years, hadn’t even known that Liam had transferred to the same department, but there was no denying how much he’d missed him, how much he still </span>
  <em>
    <span>loved</span>
  </em>
  <span> him, if he was being honest with himself. They’d ended on good terms; they’d just drifted apart, too busy to really have time for each other anymore, and it’d broken both of their hearts. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Liam still looked the same, stunning golden eyes with crinkled corners that deepened the longer Zayn just stared, and his smile was still wide and warm where it’d shifted from a smirk. His hair still seemed soft but it was longer now, looked almost down to his chin in gentle waves, and Zayn’s heart stuttered in his chest. He carefully slid under the bed, making sure his horns were far enough away from the base, and had nowhere to go except to curl up against Liam’s side. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a soft hum as Zayn nestled deeper into him, careful not to poke Liam with his horns, but then Liam’s arm was wrapping around him so his finger could run gently down one of them, and Zayn relaxed instantly with a happy sigh. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Liam chuckled, but it was full of warmth, not cruelty. “Still a sure fire way to get you to relax, then?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Only when you do it,” Zayn murmured, closing his eyes and pressing further against him, melting now. “I’ve missed you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A pause. “I’ve missed you, too. What are the chances?” Lips pressed against his hair. “Of all the beds, sweetheart.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading! <br/>Kudos and comments make me happy! <br/>xx</p></blockquote></div></div>
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